AUTOMATICS SLUSH DISPENSING MACHINE

• US 3,638,392 A
• Filed: 02/20/1970
• Issued: 02/01/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Harry Logue Jr. Welker, Michael Blaker Burton
• Original Assignee: Harry Logue Jr. Welker, Michael Blaker Burton
• Inventors: Welker, Harry Logue Jr., Burton, Michael Blaker
• Primary Examiner(s): Bell, Jr., Houston S.
• Application Number:
  US05/013,249
• Time in Patent Office: 711 Days
• Field of Search: 141/82,100,104,105,156-162,173,174 53/123,239 222/21,56,64
• US Class Current: 53/503
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 13/065 for drink preparation

Abstract

A measuring container of defined volume employs electrodes for premeasuring slush for constant volume slug discharge into an underlying vend cup. Multiple safety features are incorporated in the electronic circuitry of the completely automated coin operated dispenser to shut down operation under emergency conditions.

Claims

1. In a dispensing machine including a storage container carrying a liquid, solid particle slurry material of highly changeable viscosity and having an outlet for discharging material therefrom, means positioning a receptacle in material filling position beneath said storage container outlet for gravity discharge therein, the improvement comprising:

a closed measuring container lying intermediate said storage container outlet and said receptacle and having its upper end in communication with said container outlet and its lower end overlying said receptacle, a small diameter vent for said measuring container, electrically operated valve means associated with said measuring container for controlling discharge of material from storage container through said outlet into said measuring container, and discharge of material from said measuring container into said receptacle, and spaced electrodes carried by said measuring container for measuring accumulation of a set volume of said slurry material within said measuring container and operatively coupled to said valve means to terminate the flow of material from said storage container to said measuring container and to discharge said measured volume of material from said measuring container into said underlying receptacle, said vent acting as a viscous damping means for slurry flow into and out of said measuring container.

2. The dispensing machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said storage container includes refrigeration means having a freezing surface to which liquid material is applied and scraping means to remove a thin frozen layer of solidified material as discreet particles therefrom, said receptacle comprising a vend cup and said dispensing machine further includes;

a plurality of containers carrying liquid flavoring, individual tubes leading from said flavoring containers to said vend cup with their discharge ends overlying the open end of said vend cup, and means for selectively applying pneumatic pressure to force metered amounts of liquid flavoring from selected containers to said vend cup for flavoring said discreet particles.

3. The dispensing machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein;

said refrigeration means includes an agitator motor, a refrigerator compressor motor, an air pump motor for providing the source of pneumatic pressure, a timer motor for selectively controlling said motors, said machine comprises;

a refrigerated cabinet for holding the same including a door on said cabinet allowing access thereto, a stack of vend cups carried by said cabinet, means for feeding individual cups into cup filling position, at least one container carrying liquid base material to form said frozen discreet particles, and switch means closed by the presence of a supply of cups, a base liquid container and a flavor container, alarm means, a door operated switch, and circuit means connecting said alarm, said door operated switch and said switch means for indicating the incorrect position of any of the same.

4. The dispensing machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein said refrigeration means includes a storage container for temporarily storing frozen discreet particles, and said machine further includes a plurality of sensing electrodes at different levels within said storage container and means responsive for accumulation of frozen discreet particles within said storage container for creating a conductive circuit between various electrodes to initiate operation of said refrigeration means in response to lowering the reduction of the supply of accumulated frozen discreet particles, terminate filling operation of said storage container upon accumulation of a suitable supply of liquid within said storage container, or actuation of an overfill dump relay to automatically cut power to air pump thereby ceasing filling of said storage container in response to overfill of said storage container with the same.

5. The dispensing machine as claimed in claim 4 further comprising a cup mechanism, means for feeding a single vend cup from said vend cup supply to vend cup filling position, a first solenoid operated valve for controlling the flow of discreet particles from said storage chamber to said measuring container, a second solenoid operated valve for controlling flow of discreet particles from said measuring container to said vend cup, said cup mechanism including a plurality of cams rotatable in unison and cam operated switches operating in sequence to energize said cup indexing means, open said first solenoid valve, energize said flavor control means, close said first solenoid operated valve, open said second and third solenoid operated valves, and reset said timer motor to initial position.

6. The dispensing machine as claimed in claim 5 further including counter means for counting each cycle of operation of said multiple cam operated switches of said cup mechanism.

7. The dispensing machine as claimed in claim 6 further comprising a flavor control circuit for each container of liqUid flavoring, each circuit including a manually operated switch for each flavor, individual flavor solenoid operated valves for controlling the application of pneumatic pressure to respective flavor containers for forcing flavor therefrom for discharge into said cup, and flavor switch lockout relays associated with each flavor switch for preventing multiple flavors from being discharged simultaneously into a given vend cup during a single cycle of operation.

8. The dispensing machine as claimed in claim 7 further comprising a cup fill relay for automatically terminating the delivery of discreet particles from the refrigeration storage container to said measuring container when a measured volume of the same reaches the level of the measuring electrodes within the measuring container by overriding the cam operated timer of said cup mechanism.

9. The dispensing machine as claimed in claim 8 further comprising a sold out relay for preventing cyclic operation of said cup mechanism in response to depletion of discreet particles below the level defined by said sold out electrode within said refrigeration storage container and operatively coupled thereto, a reference level relay for controlling operation of said multiple refrigeration storage unit level control electrodes, and an overfill dump relay for shutting down the air pump delivering base product to said refrigeration storage container upon overfill of the same, and a vend relay for preventing reinitiation of a vend cycle until the cam operated timer of said cup mechanism completes a full cycle of operations.

10. A coin operated slush dispensing machine comprising:

in combination, a cabinet housing at least one container of liquid base material, a plurality of individual containers of liquid flavoring, refrigeration means including a freezing surface, means for applying liquid base material to said freezing surface, and scraping means to remove a thin frozen layer of solidified material as discreet particles therefrom, a storage container for storing said discreet particles in the form of a liquid, solid particle slurry of highly changeable viscosity, a plurality of vend cups, means for positioning individual vend cups in slurry filling position with respect to said storage container outlet, a measuring container operatively coupled to the outlet of said refrigerated storage container intermediate said outlet and a positioned vend cup, said measuring container being generally closed except for a small diameter vent, electrodes carried by said measuring container for measuring an accumulated volume of slurry within the same, first valve means for controlling the flow of slurry from said refrigeration storage compartment to said measuring container, second valve means within the outlet of said measuring cup for controlling discharge of a measured volume of slurry into said vend cup, means responsive to accumulation of slurry to the level of said electrodes within said measuring container for operating said first and second valve means, individual flavor delivery tubes with their ends overlying said vend cup and valve means for selectively controlling the application of pneumatic pressure to said flavor containers for controlled delivery of measured amounts of liquid flavoring to said vend cup and said accumulated slurry within the same.

11. The slush dispensing machine as claimed in claim 10 further comprising;

multiple electrodes at various levels within said refrigeration storage container, one of said electrodes controlling means to indicate that the machine is sold out due to a lack of frozen base material particles therein, one electrode responsive to depletion of said accumulated particles below a predescribed level for initiating operation of said refilling means, one electrode for shutting off said refilling means upon the accumulation of a sufficiently higher level of particles, and one electrode controlling means responsive to the accumulation of an excessive level of particles for shutting down thE air pump which delivers the base liquid.

12. The slush dispensing machine as claimed in claim 11 further including:

a coin mechanism, manually depressable flavor switches and a cup mechanism responsive to depression of one of said flavor switches and depositing of a coin within said coin mechanism for operation of the same, said cup mechanism comprising;

a timer motor, and a plurality of cam operated switches driven simultaneously by said motor and operable in sequence to control movement of a single cup into fill position, initiate opening of said first valve means to cause frozen ice particles to move into said measuring cup, initiate opening of one of the solenoid operated valves for a liquid flavor container corresponding to the depressed pushbutton flavor switch, and subsequent deenergizing of said second solenoid operated valve associated with said measuring container for discharging a premeasured volume of frozen particles through said second valve and into said vend cup, and resetting said timer motor to its initial position.

13. The dispensing machine as claimed in claim 12 wherein said cabinet carries a door thereon for access into the cabinet interior, and said machine further includes a first normally open switch, closed upon closing of said door, a buzzer;

a second cup fill switch, a third base fill switch, and a fourth manual flavor switch, said switches being responsive respectively, to the presence of slush material, a supply of base liquid material, and the presence of a sufficient number of flavor containers, and means operatively coupling all of said switches and said buzzer for operating the buzzer if the machine door to the slush dispensing machine is closed with any one of said last three switches left in open position.